John Musto's Heartbeats, for baritone and piano, was composed for baritone William Parker's AIDS Quilt Songbook, designed to generate AIDS research funds. Musto's text is a poem by Melvin Dixon about the progression of the AIDS virus. It adheres to a rigid format: two syllables per sentence, two sentences per line, two lines per stanza, thus mimicking heartbeats. Musto largely ignores the structure, and concentrates on word-painting and scene-setting; for example, the second syllable of "fatigue" is barely voiced. Musto's music alludes to the Stabat Mater plainchant throughout the work, but transforms it into a rugged recurring piano motif which suggests the onslaught of the virus on the body, which the singer tries frantically to fight off.

© Andrew Lindemann Malone, All Music Guide